Jaunt and North Face Continue to Bring Virtual Reality to Retail

When it comes to virtual reality experiences used in a retail-shopping environment, the collaboration between virtual reality studio Jaunt and North Face is one of the first that comes to mind.

Jaunt Studios has had a long-standing partnership with The North Face to bring consumers some of the top outdoor virtual reality experiences. Back in March, Jaunt Studios helped transport North Face customers to America’s natural wonders, Yosemite National Park and Utah’s Moab desert, in their first virtual reality collaboration titled “The North Face: Climb.”

This week the cinematic VR studio is expanding on that partnership with their latest VR experience titled “The North Face: Nepal.” The new 360-degree footage extends the collaboration between the two companies and is available for all smartphone users and select retail locations in San Francisco, New York, and will be expanded into the brand’s new Regent Street location in London.

View the latest The North Face: Nepal trailer below:

The North Face VR powered by Jaunt allows shoppers to immerse themselves in a 360-degree 3D video and audio experience of Nepal’s landmarks and mountains. The footage in “The North Face: Nepal” was shot over two weeks back in February of this year and follows athlete Renan Ozturk as he treks through Nepal, exploring one of the world’s harshest environments with North Face gear in tow, of course.

Covering a wide range of elevation through the journey, Ozturk starts his journey with Swayambhunath, also known as the monkey temple, and Thamel, the commercial neighborhood, in Kathmandu, then moving on to show the trek into the lower Khumbu glacier and ultimately, the Lobuche Peak.

“We’ve seen great success sharing VR in-store with the Moab and Yosemite film,” said Eric Oliver, Director of Digital Marketing, The North Face. “With this new Nepal footage, we’re excited to showcase the wonder of one of the most beautiful places in the world.”

It’s worth noting that the VR film does show Nepal prior to the earthquake. But in a way, the film represents the potential power of virtual reality in helping preserve and share the beauty of our planet for future generations to come.

In addition to the select North Face retail stores this content will be made available, the film will be distributed to 75,000 Outside magazine subscribers, who will receive a Google Cardboard with their print issues this month.

The North Face cinematic VR is available for download through Jaunt’s app in Google Play and iTunes.